


Ballgowns and Blossoms

by petalcollector



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-07
Updated: 2021-02-08
Packaged: 2021-03-13 04:34:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,262
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29272560
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/petalcollector/pseuds/petalcollector
Summary: Set in the late 1800s Louis Tomlinson (19) is set up to be in an arranged marriage with Mable Styles (19), Little does Louis or Harry know that he would be falling in love with the boy and not the girl. Harry Styles (17) ends up falling and pouring his heart out for Louis. The two go through struggles and battles with being gay being illegal and the judgments of family. Louis has a father who deals with alcoholism and can get physically abusive at times, giving Louis a hard time at such a young age. The two go through hell and back and also dance on the moon and stare at the stars together. Having doubts within them, they soon to realize they're love is something that can not be wasted and must be taken.
Relationships: Harry Styles/Louis Tomlinson
Kudos: 7





	Ballgowns and Blossoms

**Author's Note:**

> Please know in the fic there is: Alcoholism, Physical abusive and some NSFW.  
> Francis Styles: Harry's father  
> Lily-Rose Styles: Harry's mother  
> Mabel Styles: Harry's sister and Louis's "fiance"  
> Lady Bessie: Main Caretaker, and maid  
> Aunt Mae: Harry and Mabel's Aunt  
> (This is my first fic so I know it's not perfect but it's a start :))

Chapter 1: Sketches

¨Father!¨ Louis yells stumbling between a velvet burgundy couch, quickly matching his eyes to his father. ¨I barley know the girl, give me at least 3 more months. I beg of you¨ Louis says with puppy dog eyes.  
¨No.¨ he snaps. Louis´ father, Floyd, is known to be quite stuck up. ¨We need the money and you are becoming older by the second. Anyways, the girl is sweet, you will be meeting her and her family tomorrow for supper.¨  
¨Father we have enough money to support us, and why rush love? Let me find it, that way I will be happy,¨ Louis says with a deep breath and distress painted on his face.  
“This will be best. I´m sure you will be delighted once you see the young lady. A rather fetching young lady,” Father says with a smirk.  
Louis looks at him with disgust.¨That's repulsive Father.¨  
¨Well, I must get going, have a gathering to get too. I´ll see you for dinner,¨ he says, grabbing his hat and placing it on his almost hairless head. Floyd´s walk is parallel to the movement of a seesaw, one hip up the other hip down etc. Must be the drinking.  
¨Goodbye, Father¨ Louis says. ¨Be careful on your way down the steps with that cane,” he calls, slowly closing the door.  
Louis hurries to the window to make sure his father has gone. Louis´ home is quite large with gleaming chandeliers in the living room and front entry way. The ceiling border being traced in white. Velvet everywhere and burgundy to match the curtains. Louis has always had a taste for design. He runs up the stairs skipping two at a time. The railings carved of old polished wood. At the top of the stairs, Louis makes his way to a window seat where there are masses of paper with sketches on them. Louis draws in his free time, which quite honestly is most of the time. One sketch features a boy with curly-hair and brilliant green eyes, the eyes being the only spot of color on the paper. From here he can see across the lane and into the windows of the other home , which is only about a ten minute walk, that is if your legs move as fast as Louis´do. For being quite short, Louis moves at a striking pace. Always having a destination. He sees a boy come out of the house every once in a while, who looks to be his age. The boy is always alone and Louis hopes one day to meet him since he´s fallen in love with his sketch of the boy.  
Louis tries not to watch out the window so much as it makes him feel a bit stalkerish, but he can't seem to help himself sometimes. He sits waiting for the boy to make an appearance. He tells himself he´s only waiting for the boy because he needs to finish the drawing. Louis lays against a velvet pillow and hears his stomach growl. As he gets up to grab a biscuit, the boy makes a appearance in the piano room. Louis gasps. The piano room is the only window visible from Louis’ perspective. He snatches the mass of papers and bag of pencils and runs down the steps, with a biscuit in his mouth.  
Louis slams the door and drops his papers on the ground, ¨SHIT¨ he says, crumbs falling out of his mouth and on his drawings. He grabs the papers and stuffs them into his bag, Louis looks up to see a group of woman in traditional Victorian dresses walking along the lane. They stare at him with a rather judging look.  
¨Oh! Good day, ladies!¨ Louis says with a giggle, waving his hand .  
The women scoff and strut away. Louis rolls his eyes and runs up the lane to a cherry blossom tree . He likes to come here to get a better view of the boy. Louis sits on the bright green, tall grass. The tree is covered in pink blossoms supported by a broad trunk that Louis rests against. The branches reach far enough to cover Louis´ tiny body with shade. Louis wipes the biscuit crumbs off of the drawings and waits hopefully for the boy to appear in his front yard.  
A yellow butterfly flits by and Louis spends the next half hour sketching it. Movement by the boy's house stops the movement of Louis´ hand. The boy appears with his sister, they dance across the wide carpet of lawn. Louis resumes sketching and smiles.  
¨He looks happy,¨ Louis thinks. Seeing the boy with his sister reassures Louis, that the boy is not lonely all the time. The only other thing he knows about the boy is that he plays the piano. Louis sketches for hours and ends up fading into a sleep. More hours go by and he wakes up and checks the time on his watch.  
¨Oh fuck, it´s half past seven¨ Louis says to himself, ¨Fuck, fuck, fuck¨ Louis gets his sailor mouth from his father.  
He shoves the papers back in his bag and dashes back to the house, almost pounding into an old man walking along the lane.  
“I’m terribly sorry sir, forgive me!¨ Louis yells not looking back as he runs inside. He is hesitant to open the door, afraid his father will be out right drunk. Louis takes a deep breath and slowly opens the door, only to see his father sitting there with an empty bottle of whiskey hanging in his hand. Not a drop left.  
¨Great¨ Louis thinks.  
¨Hello father, I’m sorry I’m late. I wasn't paying attention to the time.¨  
His father stands up, walking like a seesaw except this time it´s not because of a cane.  
¨Father I´m going to head to bed now. Good night.¨ Louis walks upstairs.  
¨Louis,” his father calls, slurring the word, “get over here now.¨  
He falls onto the steps. Louis sighs and closes his eyes for a second before walking down to grab the bottle out of his father´s hand. He wraps his arm around his neck to keep him steady,  
¨Let's get you to bed,¨ Louis says.  
He manages to get his father into the guest room and settled before making his way back up to his room. Louis’ room has a king sized bed with a canopy and velvet curtains draped around it. He places his bag on the dresser and throws on some pajamas. Louis stares at the ceiling thinking about having to meet the girl and her family tomorrow before finally drifting off to a sleep. 

Chapter 2: "Oops, Hi" 

A drop of sun slowly peers through the soft curtain before flooding the room.. The warmth of the sun hugs Louis´s body. When he turns over, he’s blinded by the light. He brings his arm up to cover his eyes and stretches his arms and legs like he's being pulled from every limb. He takes in a big inhale and then exhale with his body melting back into his still warm bed. A grim look settles on his face. He's reminded he must meet his so called ¨future love¨ today.  
Louis climbs off his high bed, dipping his toes to reach the ground and throwing on an emerald green robe and matching slippers. On the way to the kitchen, Louis stops at the window seat. There is no sight of the boy.  
¨Must still be sleeping¨ Louis says to himself in a low morning voice.  
He makes himself a sausage roll and tea with a dollop of cream. He stares outside the large living room window and watches horse-drawn carriages and kids running to catch up with their parents walking by.  
Louis´s father walks in looking dreadful and drowsy.  
¨Good morning, Father, Feeling OK?¨  
¨Quite shattered,” he says. “You came home late last night. Where were you? I was waiting¨  
¨Just out by the blossom tree, I didn't realize the time¨ Louis says.  
¨Don´t tell me you were doing your silly drawings? You have more to offer as a man then lead on paper,¨his father says displeased.  
¨It doesn't matter what I was doing, I came home to you with a dry bottle in your hand, having to put you to bed.¨ Louis side eyes his father, regretting what he had just said, scared his father may erupt in anger.  
¨You have a big today,¨ he says changing the subject.  
Louis silently sips his tea, hoping his father will shut up already about this.  
¨Aren't you excited, Louis? You´re going to meet your wife this evening!¨  
Louis despised hearing the words ¨your wife¨ come out of his father´s mouth. ¨Oh yes, Father, I´m thrilled,¨ Louis says sarcastically, adding an eye roll .  
¨It´s about time you have a lady to love,¨ his father says walking across the massive living room and kicking his feet onto an ottoman.  
¨If only a lady is what I wanted,¨ Louis says under his breath.  
¨What did you say, son?¨  
¨Oh nothing, I´m going out. I´ll be back in time for this evening.¨ He puts his dishes on the counter.  
¨Don´t be late again! tonight is very important.¨ Louis grabs his bag of art supplies and makes his way out the door. This time he takes the long way because the views are ethereal. Along the sides of the trail are showers of azalea flowers. The trail is narrow and perfect for horse riding. The trees are tall enough not to let the sun flow in too much, the smells are raw and refreshing and he can hear chirps of small birds along with the silent tap of his feet on the moss covered ground.  
Louis exits the trail and makes his way up to the blossom tree that is only minutes away from the boy´s home. He looks around but still doesn't see the boy. Louis sits down against the tree again and grabs his papers and a black lead pencil, the same one he´s been using for months. He started sketching the blossom tree and waits for the boy to arrive. After a half hour, the boy appears outside with his sister again, except this time the boy has a ball and is kicking it around while his sister reads. Louis changes his position to lay on his stomach and get a better view so he can sketch the whole boy. Louis squints as he focuses on getting each detail right.  
A ball rolls into his line of sight. Louis looks up and locks eyes with the boy, both smiling gently at each other for a good five seconds.  
¨God, he´s beautiful,¨ Louis thinks before quickly turning his paper over so the boy can’t see it. Louis stands up as a v smile grows on his face. ¨Oops¨ the boy says, Louis panics and looks to the side,  
¨Hi, um- looks like you lost your ball.¨ Louis grabs the ball off the ground and hands it over to the boy.  
He stares, admiring Louis.  
¨Hello,¨ Louis says with a deep breath finally collecting himself.  
¨Thank you,¨ the boy says, eyes still locked on Louis. ¨I´m Harry, nice to meet you,¨ he says putting out his hand.  
¨I´m Louis.¨  
When they shake, their hands fit like jigsaw pieces. They keep hold of the other’s hand longer than is necessary. Harry’s eyes are light green and glass-like. Brown velvety curls crown his head. He wears a dark blue jacket that reaches his knees, with a white button-down shirt underneath and black high-waisted pants.  
¨Thank you again. Sorry to interrupt you.¨ Harry looks at the papers laying under the tree. ¨Your drawings look amazing¨.  
Louis worries that the drawing of Harry had been flipped over by the wind. He turns around to see the sketch of the blossom tree facing upward. ¨Oh,¨ he says relieved. ¨That's nothing, thank you though.¨  
Harry smiles, tilting his head. ¨Well, it was really nice meeting you,¨ he says slowly. ¨I have an event tonight, so I must get going, thanks for my ball,¨ he says letting out a giggle.  
Louis laughs with him. ¨Of course. I also have an event soon, sadly.¨  
¨Hopefully, I’ll see around,¨Harry says.  
¨Yes, you as well.¨  
Louis smiles as he watches Harry walk away. Harry looks back and Louis quickly picks up his papers panicking.  
¨Shit.¨Louis grabs his bag and makes his way back to the house. He´s still smiling with a twinkle in his eye and makes it home just in time.  
¨Hi, Father.¨  
¨Oh good, you´re here. Your suit is in your room. We’re leaving in ten minutes.¨ Louis makes his way slowly up the steps to his room. The suit is a plain black and white suit. ¨How bland, not even a splash of color,¨Louis thinks. He puts the suit on and stares in the mirror. He takes a deep breath and fixes the cuffs on the suit. ¨Are we really about to do this?¨ he asks his reflection.  
His eyes fill with sadness and his smile fades, his face now sorrowful, Louis hears his father call him.  
¨Louis! Come on, we must not be late!¨  
Louis runs down but pauses on the steps and looks down at his hand on the railing, imagining Harry´s hand in his.  
¨Let's go, Louis!¨  
Louis looks up and makes his way to the carriage waiting for them.


End file.
